Income Tax search and survey operations may come to a halt with the staff and promotee officers across the country launching an agitation protesting against non-filling of posts of assistant commissioners.

On Wednesday, the joint council of I-T Employees Federation and I-T Gazetted Officers Association organised lunch hour demonstration in front of I-T offices across the country and called for non-participation of officers in any search and survey operation starting December 5.

Promotee officers are demanding cadre review and restructuring which has been pending for more than two years. "This is urgently required to address the excessive workload with growing number of assessees and related assessment work," Baswa Nand, general secretary of ITGOA said.

He said promotions were badly required as many I-T officers were languishing without any promotion for around 13-14 years, despite sufficient vacancies.

The I-T Employees Federation and I-T Gazetted Officers Association, representing the staff and all promotee officers of the department, has been pleading with the government for the last two years to fill up vacancies and promote officers in the rank of assistant commissioner, said Harpal Singh Kharab of the joint action committee of the agitating officers.

"We are agitating with regard to our various demands since October and we had also submitted a notice to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) earlier. The work of conducting surveys on business premises, surveys to check TDS deductions and other verification work has been suspended under protest," Baswa Nand said.

"Other forms of agitation like non-conduct of surveys will continue until the demand of promotion of ITOs to assistant commissioners and timely implementation of cadre restructuring is achieved," he added.